Officials with the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco slipped through a peaceful ring of Tibetan supporters at Portland City Hall today to meet with city Commissioner Randy Leonard and Mayor Sam Adams.

At issue was a proclamation by Adams last week making this Wednesday, March 10, “Tibet Awareness Day” in Portland. With the proclamation, the city joins a worldwide remembrance of Tibet’s struggle for independence from China.

Leonard said the Chinese delegation asked that the city rescind the proclamation, order a new proclamation in support of China, and deny Tibetans a planned celebration at City Hall on Wednesday.

Leonard said no to all three requests; he said he expected the mayor to do the same.

http://www.freetibet.org/

Big hat tip to Heiney over at the Haohaoreport for pointing the way.

Oh yes; happy Tibet Awareness Day, everyone! Sure as hell beats ’serfs’ emancipation day’.

Update

Adam Cathcart’s take on the incident (including a video link) and comment on China’s response, which came by way of the 50-cent hacks masquerading as reporters on the Global Times payroll.

Meanwhile in Lhasa. So much for emancipation.
Update 2

Following the Global Times diatribe, China Daily – hat tip Jeremiah of Granite Studio – has weighed in this morning (comical highlights in bold):

While many in the international community are watching with anxiety to see if Washington moves to repair its ties with Beijing, a reckless decision by an American city is rubbing salt into the unhealed wound of the world’s most important bilateral relations.

The city of Portland, Oregon, proclaimed Wednesday, March 10, their “Tibet Awareness Day” despite strong opposition from the Chinese government.

While most people and most countries in the world recognize Tibet as part of China, the decision by the American city interferes in China’s internal affairs and is an open defiance of China’s state sovereignty.

It could have an adverse effect on Sino-US relations, which has yet to recover from major deterioration following Washington’s $6.4-billion arms sale to Taiwan and US President Barack Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama.

The designation of the “Tibet Awareness Day” was apparently orchestrated by the Dalai Lama clique, which has been engaged in activities aimed to separate China and undermine Tibet’s stability in the guise of religion.

It is still beyond our belief that politicians in Portland have chosen to celebrate a handful of fanatics trumpeting Tibet independence while turning a blind eye to either history or the status quo of present-day Tibet. History has told us that Tibet has always been a part of China, and there is ample evidence proving the fact that Tibetan people now enjoy a much better life and enjoy the full freedom of religion.

Americans are well-known for putting individual freedom above everything. While the city of Portland entertains a few Tibet separatists, has it ever occurred to its decision-makers that their move are infringing on the interest of 2.8-million Tibetans here in China?

That last sentence is especially priceless. The comments follow the usual path of blinkered nationalism. After careful consideration, my own comment on this China Daily offering is this: GROW THE FUCK UP !

Thank you.

That’s not my headline.

It belongs to an short article by Spiegel Online about Beijing’s less than humble, increasingly confrontational, and vocally intolerant manner in the wake of growing global power:

While some in the US think they can manage China’s ascent to a global power, China is dreaming of “arranging” America’s decline. And in this context the West should bid farewell to its cherished notion that China’s economic progress will lead to political liberalization and turn it into a responsible partner on the world stage. The reverse is likely to be the case.

Beijing is currently playing the provocative troublemaker, both at the climate conference in Copenhagen in December and in the UN Security Council, where it is likely to stand alone in resisting a new round of tough sanctions against Iran.

China thinks it can afford to behave in this way. In Africa and Asia, Beijing’s authoritarianism is regarded as a successful model worth copying.

At home, the Communist Party is intensifying its brutal methods. It allowed an apparently mentally unstable British drug smuggler to be executed, and Liu Xiaobo, a respected civil rights activist who only exercised his right to free speech, was sentenced to an outrageous 11 years in jail.

The Germans can spot the warning signs. They’ve been there before.

http://www.orientaloutpost.com/

Have a healthy and happy one, everybody.

*******************

If you’re a Chinese citizen with a free mind and a tendency to speak it, health and happiness are out of the question, of course.

*******************

I’ll be thinking of them and their families tonight.

Time reports that the EU are considering appeasing China with a lifting of the arms embargo that has existed since the CCP got a bit trigger happy with their own youth a couple of decades ago. They should seriously think again. Why? For the answer one need look no further than this excerpt from the Time report (my bold):

The weapons ban has certainly not prevented China from becoming a military power — its annual defense budget officially stands at $70 billion, although the Pentagon believes the real figure to be twice as high. Rather, Beijing sees the embargo as outdated and insulting, considering the other nations currently subject to an E.U. arms ban are all pariah states — Congo, North Korea, Iran, Burma, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

And which country do these ‘pariah states’ - together with their despotic leaders – turn to for their arms?

Exactly.

And that’s reason enough to lock in the embargo indefinitely, because ultimately EU arms sold to China (or wonderfully accurate copies thereof) will end up in the hands of those very states that Beijing finds it so offensive to be linked with.

Update

China’s next rogue state nurturing project: Sri Lanka

An excellent Washington Post piece by John Pomfret outlines the ways in which China’s recent discovery of global influence is manifesting itself with increasing displays of arrogance confidence:

U.S. officials first began noticing the new Chinese attitude last year. Anecdotes range from the political to the personal.

At the World Economic Forum last year, Premier Wen Jiabao lambasted the United States for its economic mismanagement. A few weeks later, China’s central bank questioned whether the dollar could continue to play its role as the international reserve currency.

And in another vignette, confirmed by several sources, a senior U.S. official involved in the economy hosted his Chinese counterpart, who then made a series of disparaging remarks about the bureau that the American ran. Later that night, the two were to dine at the American’s house. The Chinese representatives called ahead, asking what was for dinner. They were informed that it was fish. “The director doesn’t eat fish,” one of them told his American interlocutor. “He wants steak. He says fish makes you weak.” The menu was changed.

The remainder of the article is equally illuminating. It is also a disturbing reminder of how the CCP can be expected behave as it makes itself comfortable at the big boy’s table.

Update

Big hat tip to Justrecently for pointing the way to an article in The Economist entitled Facing up to China .

A snippet to ponder:

From its perceived position of growing economic strength, China has been throwing its weight around. It played a central and largely unhelpful role at the climate-change talks in Copenhagen; it looks as if it will wreck a big-power consensus over Iran’s nuclear programme; it has picked fights in territorial disputes with India, Japan and Vietnam. At gatherings of all sorts, Chinese officials now want to have their say, and expect to be heeded.

When the liberally-inclined Economist starts to see the warning signs, it’s time for everyone to wake up to the new reality.